A new way to learn Android: 6 reasons to dive into Android app development

By Jim Christopher on November 17, 2016

When it comes to mobile, a lot of people think Apple (or iOS) reigns supreme. But you’re not most people. You know better. You might know that Android has more of the mobile market share than iOS–more than 80% of the global mobile market share to be exact. And you probably also know this means the Google-maintained open-source OS is on the rise when it comes to jobs, pay and Google Play. But here’s something you probably didn’t know about Android: We just launched the world’s first (and only) adaptive skill measurement to rate your Android proficiency. And we’ve got an Android skill path to help you navigate what to learn and where to start. But before you dive into the skill path and measurement, let’s look at six big reasons you should why learn Android app development:

Android career opportunities

First off, let’s talk about job prospects. As an Android developer, you’re going to have a lot of them (probably more of them than you’d like). More likely than not, you’ll have more than one lucrative and enticing work opportunity, and because there’s a great demand for Android app development, full-time and/or freelance may both be viable options throughtout your career. There are more than 80,000 jobs in software development (applications) that need to be filled, and a lot those are going to be for Android.

Growing global demand for Android

Then there’s the worldwide proliferation of the Android platform—and it’s not just phones. There are tablets, e-readers, streaming media devices, smart TVs, security cameras, video game consoles, smartwatches and even car systems that are being built on the Android platform now. So not only is there a wide range of jobs to choose from, there’s the option of where to apply your Android developer skills.

Android & the Google Play store

Oh, and we haven’t even gotten to the financial opportunities presented by the Google Play store. With 1.4 billion users worldwide and 1.5 million Android devices activated each day, you can expect a supplemental revenue stream of money here, too. Additionally, apps sent to the Google Play store (one-time $25 fee to release apps) are available for users to download within hours versus a day or so wait time in Apple’s App store ($99 annual fee to release apps). Furthermore, the Google Play store gives you the ability to release your apps as alpha or beta enabling specific groups to test your app and give their feedback. This means you can refine your apps (with some helpful feedback) before putting them out there for the world.

Flexibility & portability

If you’re developing for iOS, you’ve got to use a Mac. But if you’re developing for Android, you can use a Mac, Windows and Linux. Big bonus.

Also, since native Android apps are developed using Java, they can be ported to other mobile operating systems. In addition, Android apps can also be ported easily to Chrome OS.

A new way to learn Android and measure your skills

And a final reason to learn Android? Our new learning path and skill measurement. Our skill measurement is the first of its kind as it adapts the difficulty of the questions after each response and evolves with more input from learners. Additionally, the skill measurement will adapt as the technology itself changes.

With this kind of unique assessment you’re able to see how your knowledge stacks up to other Android developers around the globe. This could be especially helpful if you're prepping for the AAD (Associate Android Developer) exam. Our skill measurement will rank your proficiency with a rating, so you’ll have a good idea of if you’re ready to ace your AAD, apply for that promotion, take on a new project, or if you need to hone your craft a bit more.